34j2 on the anatomical peculiarities 
formed by the contracting portion of the organ, but pro- 
jects hke the nozzle of a stop-cock into the next bowel. 
(Fig. 2. n). 
It is almost superfluous to say, that the stomach commu- 
nicates above with the oesophagus, and below, by the ori- 
fice now described, with the duodenum. In addition to 
these ordinary communications, it also opens into another 
cavity, that of the sound or swimming-bladder. On the left 
side of the stomach, about two inches below the cardiac 
orifice, there is a circular or elliptical opening, as large as 
half-a-crown, proceeding into a cavity, which is that of the 
sound. The margin of this circular orifice is provided 
with a row of fringe-like papillae, which consist of mucous 
membrane enveloping muscular fibres. These papillae do 
not appear very distinctly on the gastric side of the orifice 
(Fig. 1. O), which appears rather under the form of a cir- 
cular hole, with mucous membrane puckered into folds. 
When examined from the sound they are large and distinct, 
and are even larger and more prominent on one margin of 
the aperture than the other (Fig. 4). These apices, which 
are broad, project into the sound, not into the stomach ; and, 
as they are chiefly muscular in structure, it is not improbable 
that they are either in some degree under the will of the 
animal, or associated with some of the motions of the volun- 
tary organs. If these papillae act as a sphincter valve, 
which is not improbable, they may allow the entrance or 
exit of air, while they exclude the food. In the present 
instance, the swimming bladder contained, with some wa- 
ter, a little of the pulpy matter which was found in the 
stomach. It was otherwise flaccid. 
The stomach is attached above to the vertebral column, 
to part of the sound, and on the right side to two of the 
lobes of the liver, and by means of the spleen to the duo- 
denum. 
